ODBC connection to Filemaker 7 in Windows XP Pro

[Brudderman]

I'm trying to do a mail merge (Microsoft Word 2003) using FMD 7 as a data source on Windows XP Pro (SP2). I have installed the ODBC driver and believe that it is properly configured (localhost, port 2399, default). At least I have followed the instructions on the FM CD. I can see the driver as a System DSN entry. I test the connection in the setup dialog and enter Admin as the user name (no password) and the connection tests OK.

But here's the problem. When setting up my merge, I select the proper driver as a data source, and a dialog comes up asking me for a user name and password. I have never set up any accounts in filemaker, so I don't know what to enter. I entered Admin as a default, but that didn't work. I get an error message that no tables can be retrieved.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the driver, but that made no difference.

Can someone help me here? I think everything is in place, but I don't know how to connect.

Filemaker highly touts the ability to do mail merges with Microsoft Word but getting it to work is certainly a non-trivial task, at least for me.

Thanks!

Brudderman

p.s. I mistakenly posted this message yesterday in the wrong place (Filemaker 7 forum area) but have added some additional info and now post in the right place--here.

[transpower]

Use MSQUERY from within Word to retrieve data from FMD.

[Brudderman]

Thanks! I've used MSQUERY on rare occasions in Excel through the Get External Data command, but never in Word. So I'm not sure how to deploy it there. Maybe you can point me.

But let me give a little more info about what I'm doing first as I don't know if MSQUERY will work in this instance.

I'm using Word 2003 and beginning with the Mail Merge menu choice. This brings up a step-by-step procedure (much like a wizard), and one of the choices is to merge to email, which is my goal. The FMP database has the email addresses, and as I step through the wizard, I'm able to set the FMP address field as the TO field for messages in Outlook. Then instead of a merge to a document, Outlook sends the text of the Word doc as individual emails. If I want to, I can also insert merge fields into the Word doc just as with a regular mail merge.

But when I'm given the opportunity to choose the data source in the wizard, I don't see any way to pull in data from MSQUERY. I have tried this with an Excel sheet as the source, and it works OK. I just can't get the ODBC to communicate directly with FMP 7. It worked OK with FMP 6.

I know that I can email from within FMP directly using the SEnd Mail script step and have often done this. But the security features in Outlook 2003 now bring up a dialog which must be acknowledged whenever an external program tries to send a message through Outlook. And each individual message has to have the dialog acknowledged. I've been told that there's no way to turn this "feature" off.

This is more than you wanted to know, I'm sure, but I wanted to try and explain fully. Since mail merge with Word via ODBC is one of Filemaker's major selling points, I though it would be (should be) simple.

James Mc.

[transpower]

In Word: Database Toolbar | Insert Database | Get Data | Tools | MS Query | etc.

[Brudderman]

Yes, this does look like it will work. Thanks! I get the same dialog asking for user name and password, but Admin works for the user name, whereas it doesn't for ODBC. I'd still like to see the ODBC work, however, and don't understand why it doesn't.

James McAlister

www.james-mc.com

[Barbecue]

I've seen the same issue. I think the problem is that the ODBC connection doesn't like a null password. Try assigning a password to the Admin user for your database, and see if you can then connect. If you aren't concerned about security, you can set your database to automatically log in with that password by going into File Options.

[Brudderman]

BBQ, thanks for taking a look at this! I did try it, however, and got the same error. So I'm at the point of abandoning ODBC and taking another approach.

James

[PC_Load_Letter]

We had the same problem with Outlook, so you may want to look at the looking product:

http://www.outlook4team.com/prredirect.a...=136&pr_b=0

Which will at least solve the dialog pop-up problem you are having.

[PC_Load_Letter]

We had the same problem with Outlook, so you may want to look at the looking product:

http://www.outlook4team.com/prredirect.a...=136&pr_b=0

Which will at least solve the dialog pop-up problem you are having.

[PC_Load_Letter]

We had the same problem with Outlook, so you may want to look at the looking product:

http://www.outlook4team.com/prredirect.a...=136&pr_b=0

Which will at least solve the dialog pop-up problem you are having.